R.I.P.: MA Radio Personality Jack Peterson Passes

Jack Peterson

Jack Peterson, New Bedford, MA radio personality on WBSM-AM, died Tuesday after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer.

He was 70, according to South Coast Today.

According to WBSM's website, Peterson (born Joel Polonsky) worked in radio in Lowell before moving to WNBH 1340 in 1980, serving as a play-by-play announcer for high school sports and earning his nickname, "Captain Jack," before he started at WBSM as a newscaster in 1998 and became a "beloved staple" of the station's morning show until just before his death.

Pete Braley, brand manager and radio host at WBSM, said Peterson had been ill since early June, when he took a vacation from the radio station.

"Leading up to that he'd been feeling very fatigued," said Braley. After visiting several doctors, they discovered Peterson had a tumor, Braley said.

"He wanted to come back to work after his vacation but he had no energy. We told him not to worry about it, to relax," Braley said, adding that the staff at the time thought Peterson would returning to work. "It turned out it was cancer in his pancreas."